Electric locomotion



6 Sheets-:Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

L. DAPT. ELECTRIC LOGOMOTION.

No. 371,253. Patented Oct. 11,1887..

(-No Model) 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 L. DAFT.

ELECTRIC LOGOMOTION. No. 371,253. Patented Oct. 11, 1887.

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(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 3. L. DAPT.

ELECTRIC LOGOMOTION.

No. 371,253. Patented Oct. 11, 1887.

6 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

L. DAPT.

ELECTRIC LOGOMOTION.

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6 Sheets-Sheet 5.

(No Mpdel.)

L. DAFT;

ELECTRIC LOG'OMOTION.

No. 371,253. Patented Oct. 11, 1887.

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(No Model.) l i s Sheets-Sheet 6.

I L. DAPT.

ELECTRIC LOGOMOTION. No. 371,253. Patented Oct. 11, 1887.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEO DAFT, OF PLAINFIELD, NE\V JERSEY.

ELECTRIC LOCOMOTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 371,253, dated October 11. 1887.

Application filed September 5,1885. Serial No. 176,257. (No model i To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEO DAFT, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Plainfield, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Locomotion, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to electric locomotives, and has for its object to improve the form and construction of such locomotives,so as to render them better adapted for practical use upon long lines of road; and to this end my invention consists in an electric locomotive constructed substantially as hereinafter specified.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure l is an end view of an electric locomotive embodyingmyinvention. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same. Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged side and sectional views of bearings used in the engine. Figs. 6 and 7 are similar views of other bearings, and Figs. 8 and 9 are detail views showing modifications.

In constructing electric locomotives various ways have been suggested for mounting the electro-dynamic machine upon the truck or frame and of connecting said machine to the driving-wheels. My present invention consists in part in a novel manner of doing this, which I will now describe.

The frame or truck A may be of any suitable and convenient construction and be carried upon wheels, one or more pairs of which, as B, are the driving-wheels.

The driving-wheels are rigidly secured to the driving-shaft B, which has fixed thereon some kind of wheels or gears for receiving and transmitting power to the shaft. In- Figs. 1 and 3 I have shown the wheels 0 as frictionwheels. In Fig. 8 the wheels are represented as having the ordinary spur-gear, and in Fig. 9 sprocket-wheels are shown. Whatever the character of these wheels may be, the complementary parts 0, to form a proper means of transmitting power, is connected to the armatare-shaft D of the electro-dynamic machine or motor.

The motor herein shown is represented to be of a conventional form, and need not be specifically described.

The motor is pivotally mounted upon the truck by any suitable means, so that it may be adjusted with relation to the drivingwheels. As shown in the drawings, at one portion of' the truck or frame are placed two pedestals, E E, supporting a shaft, E, upon which one end of the motor is pivotally mounted, and upon the pedestals F F, carrying the shaft F, the other end of the motor is adjustably supported by means of a screw, G, passing through the yoke of the motor and having a bearing upon the shaft F. By means of a proper hand-wheel, G, the end of the motor may be raised or lowered in such a manner as to regulate the pressure between the friction-wheels or the relations of the other power-transmitting and speed-reducing de' vices, according to the requirements of the traction desired, and much useless wear and tear of the parts may be avoided. The screw is preferably made of such length that the end of the motor may be raised sufi iciently to allow the armature to be removed from the field-magnet over the wheels, if necessary, for repairs or otherwise.

If a pinion attached to the armature-shaft is used in connection with gear-wheels, as shown in Fig. 8, the motor may be adjusted by means of the screw so as'to secure the proper degree of mesh between the teeth, and when the sprocket-wheel is used, as shown in Fig. 9, the adjusting device may be used to secure and maintain the proper degree of tension on the chain and to take up any stretch due to wear.

In any locomotive passing rapidly over the rails of a track, especially if the rails are irregular from any cause, there is more or less pounding on the track, resulting injar to the motor and injury to the connecting-gearing; and to obviate this disturbance and to secure the proper degree of resiliency I form elastic bearings for the supports for the motor, as the shafts E and F. These bearings H are made of alternating laminae of some rigid substance, h, preferably of metal, and an elastic substance, h, as india-rubber, and these laminte are arranged above and between the journals of the shafts in the pedestals, as seen same time permit of a su'fiiciently rigid adjustment to obtain the necessary friction between the wheels to prevent slipping.

In order to avoid the great loss of power due to friction in the engagement of two friction-wheels of different radii having corresponding V-shaped projections, I form the friction-wheels 0, connected to the armatureshaft, with semicircular projections of the same pitch as the Vshaped recesses in the larger wheels, 0, connected to the shaft of the driving-wheels. By this construction I am enabled to take advantage of the friction due to the angular engagement of the surfaces in transmitting power, and prevent the loss of power by friction between the usual similarlyshaped projections.

The electric current is often transmitted to the coils of the electro dynamo machine from the rails of the track by wheels or brushes on the motor bearing upon the track. As it is desirable to have some ready and si mple means of disconnecting the wheel or brush from the rail, I support the wheel I in arms J, having a crank, K, connected by a rod, L, to the le ver M in such a manner that the wheel may be quickly raised or lowered, and a lockingguide, N, is connected to the lever, so that it may be secured in either position.

The reversing-brush and lever attachment, the switch arrangement, and other devices shown in the drawings need not be particularly described here, as they are not claimed, being embraced in otherapplications and patents.

It is evident that my invention is not limited to the precise details shown and described herein, as they may be varied without departing from the spirit of my invention, and the devices described may be used separately or in connection with other equivalent devices.

What I claim is 1. The combination, with the driving shaft supporting one member of the driving-gear, of an electromotor carrying the other member of the driving-gear directly over the drivingshaft, and supported at each end on springbearings, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the driving-shaft supporting one member of the drivinggear, of an electromotor pivoted to spring-bearings at one side of the driving-shaft, and carrying the other member of the driving-gear directly over the said drivingshaft, and adjusting devices connected to the motor, and also pro vided with springbcarings, substantially as described.

3. In an electro-locomotive, the combination, with a friction-wheel secu red to the drivingshaft having V-shaped grooves, ofa friction-wheel secured to the armature of the motor having semicircular projections and corresponding pitch, substantially as described.

4. The combination,with a truck of an electro-locomotive, of a standard and an electrodynamicmachinepivotallysupported thereon, and bearings in said standard for the machine, consisting of alternate laminae of metal and rubber, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a truck, ofpedestals E, shaft E, pivotally supporting one end of the motor, pedestals F, shaft F, and screw G, adj ustably supporting the other end, whereby the power-transmitting and speedreducing gearing may be nicely regulated to maintain proper relations between the parts under varying conditions of strain, speed, &c., sub stantially as described.

In testimony whereofI have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LEO DAFT.

Vitnesses:

J NO. N. BRUNS, F. HOLLY REED. 

